Disaster recovery for a freelancer, what is realistic
A freelancer has no second server room, but 'all my work is in the cloud' is not a plan. Write down what should happen if your laptop is stolen tomorrow and your phone is broken.
Try this first
- 1List the absolute basics to keep working, mail access, customer files, invoicing tool and bank account.
- 2Document per item how long recovery takes, that is RTO formally, but for freelancers just 'will I be working again today or tomorrow'.
- 3Keep MFA backup codes in a physical place not next to the laptop, otherwise you lose your accounts when the laptop goes.
- 4Store a second device offsite, for example at family, with the minimum tools to log in to the most important accounts.
- 5Test once a year that you can indeed get back to work within a day, paper-only reading does not help when it actually matters.
- 6Designate a stand-in, a fellow freelancer who can email your customers briefly if you are ill or unreachable.
When to bring us in
If your work depends on customer deadlines, seriously consider mutual stand-in arrangements with a fellow freelancer. Vectel can write a simple DR plan that matches your work.
See also
- First IT setup as a freelancer, what do you actually needNot everything at once. One laptop, a mailbox on your own domain, a password manager, a backup. That covers the first year.
- Hiring your first employee, what IT to arrange before day oneLaptop, account, mailbox, access to the right folders. In that order, not all of it at 9 a.m. on day one.
- Moving to a new office, IT checklistInternet and power have the longest lead times. Plan at least three months out, not three weeks.
None of the above fits?
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